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add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2024 8:31 am
by fgod222
Hi,
To improve the taste, do you add sugar to the whiskey before bottling?
if yes, how much?
thank you

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2024 8:55 am
by bilgriss
Why do you think that will improve the taste if done before bottling? Why not add it to whatever drink you make later if you want it to be sweet?
If you just want bottles of sweetened whiskey, I suppose you could add sugar to your proofing water until it's in solution and then proof down your whiskey with it.
My own preference is to age on wood until it's ready.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2024 10:23 am
by Stonecutter
No I don’t. And I don’t add it to my rum either.
To improve the taste of my whiskey I adjust my mashing, fermenting, distilling, and aging protocols. You should be able to sap plenty of sugar, vanilla and other “sweet” profiles from a half decent oak aging process.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2024 12:51 pm
by Bolverk
I don't add sugar to rum or whiskey... neither really need it in my opinion, but I have been tempted to try making a caramel from a recipe in The Distiller... just to see how it tastes.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2024 1:04 pm
by Saltbush Bill
fgod222 wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 8:31 am To improve the taste, do you add sugar to the whiskey before bottling?
I think your being impatient and looking for shortcuts.
Both this and your post about rum are asking the same question, about the same thing.
Good washes or mashes, correct distilling procedures , good cuts and then time on Oak are what make good Rum and Whisky.
Your previous post asking about the minimum time before drinking Rum when it leaves the still, indicates the same thing. Your in a rush.
If it were possible to hurry the process the commercial guys would have been doing it for the last 200 or more years I'd think.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sun Sep 15, 2024 9:23 pm
by Yonder
Sugared whiskey? Sounds suspiciously like Sudden Discomfort. No thanks.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2024 7:47 pm
by Deplorable
Yonder wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 9:23 pm Sugared whiskey? Sounds suspiciously like Sudden Discomfort. No thanks.
Now there is a nickname for SC i have never heard. :clap:

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2024 9:01 pm
by Setsumi
If you realy want a sweeter wisky or rum add dried apricots to your aging stock. Be careful it can be very sweet. Another to add is dried dates., but in both cases your wisky profile changes more to a brandy profile.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Mon Sep 16, 2024 10:32 pm
by NZChris
fgod222 wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 8:31 am Hi,
To improve the taste, do you add sugar to the whiskey before bottling?
if yes, how much?
thank you
No, not to improve the taste.

I have used whiskey as an ingredient in liquors and liqueurs that have also contained sugar as an ingredient, often honey.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2024 12:37 pm
by Chauncey
fgod222 wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 8:31 am Hi,
To improve the taste, do you add sugar to the whiskey before bottling?
if yes, how much?
thank you
No.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2024 11:01 am
by Dr Griz
Saltbush Bill wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 1:04 pm I think your being impatient and looking for shortcuts.
Can confirm. When I started out, I found an website like https://www.rumrevelations.com/sugar-list that suggested a lot of commercial rums backsweeten a little to smooth out their spirits. I was still working on making decent cuts, so my rums were a bit janky, and I figured that this was the solution. So I did a lot of experiments with corn sugar and macerating different fruits (dried dates were my favorite, btw). It was fine, but I found that the stuff I just let sit on oak was a whole lot better in the end. Especially once I got my cuts worked out.

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sat Sep 21, 2024 10:52 pm
by NZChris
Dr Griz wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2024 11:01 am
Saltbush Bill wrote: Sun Sep 15, 2024 1:04 pm I think your being impatient and looking for shortcuts.
Can confirm. When I started out, I found an website like https://www.rumrevelations.com/sugar-list that suggested a lot of commercial rums backsweeten a little to smooth out their spirits. I was still working on making decent cuts, so my rums were a bit janky, and I figured that this was the solution. So I did a lot of experiments with corn sugar and macerating different fruits (dried dates were my favorite, btw). It was fine, but I found that the stuff I just let sit on oak was a whole lot better in the end. Especially once I got my cuts worked out.
Whiskey is not rum.
viewtopic.php?t=93449

Re: add sugar to the whiskey before bottling

Posted: Sun Sep 22, 2024 9:20 am
by Dr Griz
NZChris wrote: Sat Sep 21, 2024 10:52 pm Whiskey is not rum.
That's true enough. You may have noticed I was responding to Saltbush Bill's comment that such additions smack of the impatience of a new distiller. I was sharing my own experience that learning to improve one's cuts was a better path to good product than "tricks" like back-sweetening.